Virgin Wines UK PLC's (AIM:VINO) shares dropped 12.5% on Tuesday morning after the release of interim results where the group noted “tough trading conditions” and profits plunging.
Profit before tax for the direct-to-consumer wine retailer fell to £100,000 in the six months to end-December, down 97% from £3.2mln a year earlier, as revenue fell 17% to £33.6mln. as it had warned in January.
Virgin Wine’s net cash position was kept roughly stable at £7.6mln.
Chief executive Jay Wright said: "As previously announced in our year-end trading update, profitability was impacted during the first half, with a number of macroeconomic headwinds exacerbating certain internal and operational challenges which we encountered particularly over our peak Christmas trading period."
He said January and February trading "broadly in line with expectations with consistently resilient demand among loyal customers".
Shares were changing hands at 42.4p, down 44% since the start of the year and over 80% since floating two years ago this month.